Agricultural sprayer



Oct. 18, 1955 J. M. NISSEN 2,721,102

AGRI CULTURAL SPRAYER Filed June 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 James M.lV/ssen INVENTOR.

Get. 18, 195 J. M. NISSEN 2,721,102

AGRICULTURAL SPRAYER Filed June 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 Fig.3

James M. Nissan JNVEN TOR.

BY Wynn/q; 19m

United States Patent AGRICULTURAL SPRAYER James Ni. Nissen, San Jose,Caiir".

Application June 25, 1953, Serial No. 364,144

8 Claims. (Cl. 293S) This invention relates to a spray nozzle andparticularly to a nozzle to be mounted on an airplane for dispensingdroplets of spray material for agricultural spray- In agriculturalspraying, many types of nozzles have been employed for securing asubstantially even distribution of the spray material over therelatively large area of agricultural land. Considerable difficulty hasheretofore been encountered because of clogging or so-called freezing ofthe spray nozzles. Heretofore, most of the spray nozzles have beenrelatively small apertured and operated under pressure so that anytendency of the mix to clog would block up the nozzle and prevent properoperation thereof. Rotary nozzles as heretofore known have been quitecomplicated and hard to clean and maintain in operative condition. Also,such nozzles have produced as high drag, so that only a few nozzlescould be used thus reducing the area that could be covered at each pass.The high drag also adversely affects the performance of the airplane tothe extent that it limits the load of spray carried by the airplane.

The present invention provides a spray nozzle with a quick disconnectfitting, and a relatively large delivery pipe so that the mixture orliquid may flow freely therein by gravity and utilizes an impeller blademounted adjacent the outlet of the discharge pipe for breaking thedischarge up into a plurality of small droplets and dispensing the sameinto the air stream radially with respect to the nozzle at high velocitywhich further breaks up the liquid into smaller droplets. Preferably,the impeller blade is shielded by a conical or ogive type nose having abase diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the impellerand having a stream-lined after body or tail mounted immediately behindthe impeller so that the air flow over the nozzle and the tail producesa suction in the slot between the nose and the after body to assist theimpeller in removing the material discharged from the pipe. The impelleritself may be driven in any suitable Way, but is preferably driven bymeans of air propeller blades mounted on or attached to the impellerblade and extending radially therefrom into the air stream around theshield. The rotating blades also help to break up the liquid intosmaller droplets.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improvednozzle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a nozzle having arelatively large discharge pipe.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a nozzle having animpeller for distributing the liquid material.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a spray nozzle havinga low drag when mounted on an airplane.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a nozzle having arelatively large annular discharge orifice.

It is another object of the invention to provide a nozzle attached bymeans of a quick disconnect coupling.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a nozzle havinga rotary impeller with a propeller attached.

It is another object of the invention to provide a nozzle adapted toutilize a plurality of types of interchangeable impellers.

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Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the acompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a spraying airplaneshowing the nozzle attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the nozzle;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical elevation through the nozzle;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a simplified impeller according to theinvention; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modification of the impelleraccording to the invention.

in the exemplary embodiment according to the invention, an agriculturalspray airplane 19 of any desired type carries a tank of spray liquidindicated generally at 12 and has a discharge pipe 14 which may beprovided with any suitable valve for allowing the liquid or mixture inthe tank 12 to flow by gravity through the pipe 14. The pipe 14terminates in a header 15 to which a plurality of L-shaped dischargeterminals 16 are connected by quick acting couplings 17. The dischargeterminal portions 16 extend rearwardly when the nozzles are mounted onthe header 15. A boss 18 is provided in the L-shaped portion 16 and anaxle 20 is rigidly mounted therein and extends substantially axiallythrough the annular orifice 22 at the discharge end of the portion 16.

A sleeve 24 is preferably rigidly attached to the interior of theportion 16 so that the axle 2*?) extends therethrough. The open end ofthe L-shaped portion 16 and the sleeve 24 defines an annular orifice fordischarge of liquid onto an impeller disk 26. The impeller disk 26 isjournaled on the axle 20 and is spaced rearwardly from the annularorifice 22 by means of the sleeve 24. A forward side of the disk 26 isprovided with a plurality of impeller ribs 28 herein shown assubstantially radial, although it is apparent that the ribs 28 mayextend at an angle with respect to their radial direction, or they maybe curved, to provide flingers.

An aerial propeller herein shown as a disk 32 welded or otherwiseattached to the plate 26 is provided with radially extending blades 34which may be of any desired shape or angle of inclination. Astream-lined shield 36 extends forwardly and substantially encloses theterminal portion of the part 16 and is preferably of a substantiallyconical or ogive shape so as to provide a steady air flow thereover. Thebase 38 of the nose 36 is substantially flush with the orifice 22 and isof substantially equal diameter with the impeller disk 26.

A substantially stream-lined or inversely ogive after body it? ismounted on the axle 20 and secured thereon by means of a fastener suchas the nut 42. The forward end 14 of the after body 46 is spaced fromthe propeller disk 32 by means of a spacer block 46 and the forward end44 of the tail is substantially identical in diameter to the rear end 33of the ogive nose 36.

The after body 44) may be provided with suitable stabilizing fins 43.

In addition to varying the number and the pitch of the ribs 28, aperforated disk 50 may be mounted on the impeller disk 26 and ispreferably circular in form and larger in diameter than said impellerdisk 26. The outer perimeter 54 will then extend beyond the extremity ofthe impeller disk 26 and the propeller blades are mounted at theperiphery of the disk 50. A plurality of apertures 56 are provided inthe disk 50 to catch the liquid distributed by the impeller 26 and breakit up into fine droplets. The number and size of the apertures 56 willbe determined by the viscosity of the liquid and the size of thedroplets to be distributed.

In the operation of the device according to the invention, a valve willbe opened to allow the material to be sprayed to fall by gravity throughthe discharge pipe 14 where it will be discharged onto the impeller disk26. Because 'of the suction of the air stream over the nose 36,

.a suction will be formed causing the material to flow rapidly out ofthe part 16 onto the impeller blade and axially outwardly therefrom. Therotation of the impeller disk at high. speed throws the liquid outradially with a high velocity which will break the liquid up into aplurality of fine drops which will be radially distributed around theimpeller so that a relatively large crop area may be covered. At thetermination of the spraying run,

lets desired or the viscosity of the liquid to be dispensed.

Because of the ogive nose type and the stream-lined after body, the nose36 and the after body 40 provide a substantially elongated, stream-linedshield of relatively small weight and having a low drag with respect tothe plane on which it is mounted.

.While for the purpose of exemplification, a presently preferredembodiment of the invention has been shown and described according tothe best present understanding thereof, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made inthe construction and arrangement of the parts thereof without departingfrom the true spirit and purpose of the invention. 7

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A spray nozzle comprising a discharge pipe, an axle mounted in saidpipe and extending therefrom, an im peller journaled on said axleadjacent the open end of said pipe, propeller blades attached to andextending substantially radially from said impeller, a substantiallyconical nose mounted on said pipe, said nose extending substantiallycoaxially with said impeller, a substantially stream-lined tail mountedon said axle and extending rearwardly from said impeller, said nose andsaid tail forming a substantially stream-lined shield about saidimpeller, said shield having a maximum diameter substantially equal withthe diameter of said impeller, said impeller including a substantiallyplane disk, a plurality of substantially radial ribs on said disk.

2. A spray nozzle comprising a discharge pipe, an axle mounted in saidpipe and extending therefrom, an impeller journaled on said axleadjacent the open end of said pipe, propeller blades attached to andextending substantially radially from said impeller, a substantiallyconical nose mounted on said pipe, said nose extending substantiallycoaxially with said impeller, a substantially stream-linedtail mountedon said axle and extending rearwardly from said impeller, said nose andsaid tail forming a substantially stream-lined shield about saidimpeller, said shield having a maximum diameter substantially equal withthe diameter of said impeller, said impeller including a substantiallyplane disk, a plurality of substantially radial ribs on said disk, anannular plate mounted on said impeller, said plate having a plurality ofapertures therein.

3. A spray nozzle comprising a discharge pipe, said pipe terminating ina rearwardly directed terminal portion," an axle mounted substantiallyaxially of said terminal portion and extending rearwardly therefrom, asubstantially circular impeller disk journaled on said axle adjacent theend of said terminal portion, a plurality of substantially radiallydisposed ribs on the face of said disk, an ogive nose mounted on saidpipe substantially coaxial with said terminal portion, the rear of saidnose being substantially flush with the end of said pipe, propellerblades attached in driving relation with said impeller.

4. A spray nozzle comprising a discharge pipe, said pipe terminating ina rearwardly directed terminal portion, an axle mounted substantiallyaxially of said terminal portion and extending rearwardly therefrom, asubstantially circular impeller disk journaled on said axle adjacent theend of said terminal portion, a plurality of substantially radiallydisposed ribs on the face of said disk, an ogive nose mounted on saidpipe substantially coaxial with said terminal portion, the rear of'saidnose being substantially flush with the end of said pipe, propellerblades attached in driving relation with said impeller, an annular platemounted on said impeller, said plate having a plurality of aperturestherein.

5. A spray nozzle comprising a discharge pipe, said pipe terminating ina rearwardlydirected terminal portion, an axle mounted substantiallyaxially of said terminal portion and extending rearwardly therefrom, asubstantially circular impeller disk journaled on said axle adjacent theend of said terminal portion, a plurality of substantially radiallydisposed ribs on the face of said disk, an ogive nose mounted on saidpipe substantially coaxial with said terminal portion, the rear of saidnose being substantially flush with the end of said pipe, propellerblades attached in driving relation with said impeller, a substantiallystreamlined tail mounted on said axle, the forward end of said tailbeing spaced from said nose to provide a transverse slot receiving saidimpeller.

6. A spray nozzle for mounting on an airplane for movement through theair to spray liquid into the air comprising a pair of horizontal coaxialfront and rear hollow sections having spaced confronting ends forming aslot therebetween, a gravity feed liquid discharge pipe depending intosaid front section and having a discharge end in the axis of said frontsection opening rearwardly' into said slot to discharge liquid into theslot, an axial shaft in said sections traversing said slot, a rotarydisk on said shaft and in said slot spaced from said end of the frontsection and against which liquid from said discharge end is adapted toimpinge, radial front impeller blades on said disk terminating at theperiphery thereof for breaking up liquid into spray form andbroadcasting the same into the air under the action of centrifugal forcecaused by rotation of the blades by said disk, and propeller blades onsaid disk extending radially outwardly there from for operation bytravel through the air to rotate 7 said disk, said front and rearsections being'of ogive streamlined form and said disk lying within theconfines of said slot so that under forward movement of the nozzlethrough the air, suction will be induced in the slot between said frontsection and disk to cause the discharging liquid to impinge against thedisk.

7. A spray nozzle according to claim 6, said front section beingsupported by said pipe and said shaft being supported by said pipe andsupporting said rear section.

8. A spray nozzle according to claim 6, said pipe being L-shaped withone end extending upwardly out of said front section, and a coupling onsaid one end of the pipe for attaching the same to a liquid supply.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS maymy

